Circuit-breaker.



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E. M. HEWLETT & G. H. HILL.

I OIROUIT BREAKER. 12211011101111.1111 11111. 28, 1905. 1 1,01 1,784.Patented Dec. 12,1911.

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E. M. HEWLETT & G; H. HILL.

CIRCUIT BREAKER. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 28, 1905.

Patented D60. 12, 1911.

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E. M. HEWLETT & O. H. HILL.

0130011 BREAKER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 28, 1905.

1,01 1,784. Patented Dec. 12, 1911.

3 SHEETSBHEET 3.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD M. HEWLETT AND CHARLES H. HILL, OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGN-ORS TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

CIRCUIT-BREAKER.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, EDWARD M. HEWLETT and CHARLES H. HILL, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Schenectady, county of Schenectady, Stateof New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCircuit-Breakers, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates generallyto circuit breakers and moreparticularly to that type of breaker in which one or more shunt contactsare provided and in which the final break is made between carbonsurfaces.

The object of the invention is to improve circuit breakers of this typegenerally and to this end it comprises certain structural features whichare capable of general application and a certain novel organization inwhich a plurality of circuit breakers are controlled by common trippingdevices, all of which will be more fully understood upon reference tothe following detailed descrip tion taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing, the novelty of the invention being definitelypointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to said drawing, 'Figure '1 is a front elevation of thiscircuit breaker or ganization showing two circuit breakers operated bycommon tripping mechanism; Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the same,the plane of section being taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, and viewedin the direction of the arrows therein shown; Figs. 3 and 4 are sideelevations of the parts shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 showing the breakerclosed and Fig. 4 showing the breaker open; Figs. 5, 6 and 7 arerespectively a plan, front elevation and side elevation of the overloadtrip coil and its connections with an adjacent contact stud; Fig. 8 is adiagram of circuits, and Fig. 9 is a view in elevation of a trippinglatch and the arm for moving it.

Throughout these figures like characters designate like parts.

The breakers illustrated are substantially identical in construction,and each consists essentially of vertically arranged contact studs 10and 11 secured to a common support 12 of slate or other suitableinsulating material, a movable brush contact 13 adapted to engage theupper contact stud 10 and secured at its lower end toa supporting frame14 pivoted at the point 14 adjacent to the lower Specification ofLetters Patent.

Application filed March 28, 1905.

Patented Dec. 12, 1911. Serial No. 252,477.

contact stud 11 to a base 15 and electrically connected to the lowerstud by a flexible connection 16, primary shunt contacts 17 18,secondary shunt contacts 19 and 20 and an operating lever 21 forcramping the contacts into engagement.

The contact studs 10 and 11 are providedwith the usual threaded shankswhich extend through the support 12 and are provided on their rear endswith suitable terminals 22. The fixed shunt contacts 18 and 20 are removably secured directly to the face of the upper contact stud 10 bymeans of screws 23. The cooperating shunt contacts 17 and 19 are carriedat the upper ends of spring arms which are firmly secured at their lowerends by bolts 24 to the swinging frame 14, and these arms are givensufficient resiliency so that a good contact is obtained when thecircuit breaker is forced to closed position. These bolts 24 alsoadjustably clamp the lower end of the movable laminated contact 13between two portions of the contact carrying frame 14 and by adjustingthe position of the contact 13 any desired pressure may be obtainedbetween it and its cooperating stud 10.

The operating lever 21, which is instru' mental in cramping the movablecontacts of the circuit breaker into electrical engage ment with thefixed contacts, is pivoted to the frame 14 at a point 25 and at thepoint 26 to the outer ends of a pair of links 27 which are pivotallysecured at their inner ends at the point 27 a to the base 15. Theselinks extend on opposite sides-of the frame 14 and together with thepivot pin 26 form a cramping frame which cooperates with the operatinglever and the supporting frame to set the breaker. This is accomplishedby a downward and inward pressure upon the handle 28 of the operatinglever. This closing movement of the breaker is limited by thecooperating stops 29 and 30 located, respectively, on the lever 21 andframe 14, and positioned so as to leave the parts slightly underset andready to fly open when released. In order to hold the parts in thisposition a latch 31 pivoted to the frame 14 and cooperating with theprojection 32 on the operating lever 21 is provided. The openingmovement of the circuit breaker is limited by means of a buffer on thelever 21 cooperating with the projection 33 on the frame 14. This buffercomprises two spring plates or clips 3% secured to the opposite sides ofthe lever 21 and extending upward about midway between the pivotalpoints 25 and 26 and arranged so as to slightly diverge and to beengaged on their inner faces by the projection and thereby take up thesudden blow of the parts when the breaker is allowed to fly open underthe action of gravity. In order to prevent injury due to the impactofthe parts of the breaker in case the clips 34 are broken or renderedineifective, a block of rubber 35 is provided between them at their baseagainst which the end of the projection 33 may strike. In normaloperation, however, the clips alone are relied upon to take up theshock.

An important characteristic of the present breaker is the ease withwhich it may be set. This is brought about by so arranging the partsthat when the circuit breaker is open, the points 14, 25, and 26 are insubstantially a right line or at least the distance of the point 25 froma straight line joining the points 11" and 26 is not great as comparedwith the distance between the points 14 and 26 or between the points 26and 27. here the construction is such that lines joining the points 1%,25, '26 and 27 more nearly define a rectangle, it is very diflicult toclose the breaker. a simple downward pull, which is all that is requiredin the present case. being insufficient. This arrangement of partsprovides what may be termed a compound toggle, consisting of two toggleshaving a common member. One of these toggles acts between the points 14and 2t and com prises as one member the portion of the frame It lyingbetween the points lt'" and 25, and as the other member the portion ofthe operating lever 21 lying between the points 25 and 2G. The secondtoggle is areentrant toggle operating between the points 25 and 27 andcomprises as one member the portion of the operating lever 21 betweenthe points 25 and Q6 and as the other member the links 27. This compoundtoggle structure provides means for exerting a very effective pressureupon the circuit breaker contacts and at the same time it provides avery compact structure due to the short le verages required.

Each of the latches 31 is secured to an arbor 36 which extends betweenthe opposite legs 37 of the supporting frame 14-, and the adjacentendsof the arbors 36 of the two circuit breakers are provided withrearwardly extending arms 37" which are in turn provided at their rearends with projections 38 which extend toward each other and intoposition to be tripped by a common tripping mechanism. In order toprevent the possibility of a short circuit between the lower contactstuds of the two breakers by way of the supporting frames 14, the arms37 and this common tripping mechanism,

each of the arms 3'7 is provided with a section 37 of insulatingmaterial. This common tripping mechanism in the present instancecomprises an overload magnet consisting of a solenoid 38 having amovable core 39 (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2) which is drawndownward into a guide tube 10 by the action of gravity and is drawnupward against such action by the magnetism of the coil into engagementwith the fixed pole-piece 40 The guiding tube =10 is provided withlongitudinal slots -11 located on its opposite sides. Through theseslots pins 42 secured to the movable core 39, extend far enough toengage the projections 38 of the latch mechanism in the upward movementof the core'39. As clearly shown in Fig. 8, the solenoid 38 is includedin series with the contacts of one of the breakers. This connection isobtained in a novel way as clearly illustrated in Figs. 5, G and 7. Twooverlapping strips 43, 44: extend over one of the lower contact studs 11and one of these, as the strip 14. is in electrical engagement with saidstud; the other strip 43 is insulated from the stud and the strip H bysuitable insulation 45 and the distant ends of the strips 43 and 4 1 areelectrically connected to the opposite ends of the solenoid 38. Fromthis it will be seen that circuit is completed from the stud through thestrip at thence through the solenoid 38 to the strip 43 and from thisstrip to the flexible connection 16, thence through the frame 14 andmovable contact 13 to the upper stud 10. As seen in Figs. 5 and (5, theparts 16, 13, 4st, 15 and 11 are mechanitally connected withoutinterferingflvith this circuit. The shank of the contact stud 11 in thisparticular instance extendsthrough the base 15 into threaded engagementwith its head and the strip 41, and said head and strip are suitablyinsulated from the frame by means of the insulation 4-1:, 44- 'The headof the stud and the strip H are held together by rivets 4st. Theflexible connection 16 and the upper conducting strip &3 are held inposition by a plurality of screws 44: which extend through openings insaid connection and strips into threaded engagement with the strip 44-and the head of the stud. These screws are insulated from the strip 43and the connection 16 by suitable interposed insulation 4 1.

The solenoid 38 is secured to the support 12 by means of screws 46 whichextend through the support into engagement with the supporting magnetframe I? to which the solenoid is secured and from which it is suitablyinsulated, the lower pair of screws 4:6 passing first through the stripst3, 4% with suitable interposed insulation 46 as clearly shown in Fig.6.

In addition to the overload trip mechanism the circuit breakers may betripped manually through the agency of a bifurcated lever 48 pivoted tothe lower end of a supporting post 49 which is secured to the under sideof the magnet frame 47. The bifurcated arms of the lever 48 extend overand partially around the projections 38 of the latch mechanism and theirlower ends are of sufficient length to remain always in engagement withthese projections, whatever the position of the circuit breaker parts,so that the projections 38 can never pass out of position to be operatedby this manually actuated lever and these pro ecting ends will furtherserve to guide the projections into their proper operative posit-ionwhile the breaker is being closed. The movement of the lever in onedirection is limited by the stop 50 engaging the supporting post 49 andin the other direction by its bifurcated arms engaging the under side ofthe overload magnet frame 47. The lever is also provided with apush-button 51.

In the organization shown, in addition to the trip mechanism alreadydescribed, a no voltage release device is shown. This comprises anelectromagnet having 1ts frame 52 removably secured to the face of themagnet frame 47 by screws 47*, a coil 53 located therein and included incircult between the two sides of the line as shown in Fig. 8, and aweighted armature 53 which is adapted to engage a projectlon 54 upon themanually operated lever 48 so as to throw it into tripping positionWhenever the circuit of the coil 53 is broken or its pull is otherwiserendered insuflicient to hold the armature out of engagement with saidstop 54. The downward movement of the weighted armature 53* whichmcludes the movable core 55, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, is limitedby. the projection 54.

For the purpose of protecting the overload magnet from the possibilityof an arc jumping from one of the ad acent contact studs 10, a housing58 is arranged so as to cover its top and a portion of its sides. Thlshousing is composed of insulating material and is held in position uponthe support 12 by means of a plurality of connecting members whichextend from the front of the housing through suitable openings thereinto and through. the support 12. In the presentinstance these membersconsist of tubes 59 into the opposite ends of which are screwed screws60 and 61. In addition to the function of mechanically holding thehousing 58 in place these connecting members serve to conduct currentfrom the rear of the support 12 to the leads of the coil 53 on the frontof the housing, the screws 61 at the rear of the support beingelectrically connected to the adjacent studs 10 by conduct-ing strips61*. By reason of this construction and the removability of the frame 52of the no-voltage release magnet,

ed claims all such alterations and modifications.

\Vhat we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is, 1. In a circuit breaker, the combination with a flatsupport and two contact studs extending through said support, of fiatconducting strips mounted upon one of said studs to overlap and toextend along the face of said support at right angles to a line joiningsaid studs, insulation between the overlapping portions of said strips,and atrip coil. mounted on the face of said sup port and in circuit withsaid strips.

2. In a circuit breaker, the combination with a flat support and twocontact studs extending through said support, of a fiat strip mountedupon one of said studs, a second strip insulated from and mounted uponsaid stud to overlap said first strip at one end, both said strips beingmounted to ex tend along the face of said support at right angles to aline joining said contact studs, and a trip coil mounted bet-ween thenonadjacent ends of said strips with its axis parallel to a line joiningsaid contact studs.

8. In a circuitbreaker, the combination with a flat support and twocontact studs extending through said support, of a trip coil mountedwith its axis parallel to a line joining said studs, conducting stripsfor supporting said coil connected to opposite ends of said coil andlying flat along the face of said support, said strips being bent atright angles in the plane of the strips and overlapping upon one of saidstuds, insulation between the overlapping portions of said strips, amovable member for completing the circuit between the face of theuppermost strip and the non-adjacent stud, and connections whereby saidtrip coil controls said movable member.

4. In a circuit breaker, the combination with a flat support and twocontact studs extending through said support, of two fiat overlappingstrips of different lengths mounted flat on the surface of said supportwith adjacent ends in alinement and the non-adjacent ends bent at rightangles to the strips to extend perpendicularly from said support, one ofsaid strips being connected to one of said studs, insulation between theoverlapping portions of said strips and a trip coil secured between thenon-adjacent ends of said strips with its axis parallel to the face ofsaid support.

In a circuit breaker, the combination with a flat support, four contactstuds mounted on said support to form a rectangle and extending throughsaid support, and two movable bridging members on opposite sides of therectangle, of overlapping strips insulated from each othe' and securedto one of said contact studs to extend along the face of said support toa point between said bridging members, a trip coil mounted between theends of said strips, and means whereby said trip coil controls saidbridging members.

6. In a double pole circuit breaker, the combination with a flatsupport, two pairs of contact studs mounted side by side on said supportto extend through it, and two cooperating bridging members each arrangedto bridge a pair of studs, of two strips mounted on one of said studs tooverlap thereon and to extend across the face of said support toward theother pair of studs, the lower support being connected to the side onwhich it is mounted, insulation between the overlapping portions of saidstrips, a trip coil mounted between said pairs of contacts with its endsconnected to said strips, and connections whereby said trip coilcontrols said bridging members.

7. In a circuit breaker, the combination with a flat support and twocontact studs extending through said support, of a trip coil located onthe face of said support with its axis parallel to the line joining saidstuds, flat strips connected to the opposite ends of said coil andextending along the face of said support at right angles to a lineoining said studs to overlap each other upon one of said studs, andinsulation between the overlapping portions of said strips.

8. In a circuit breaker, the combination with a flat support, and twocontact studs extending through said support, of two flat conductingstrips mounted upon one of said studs to lie flat against the face ofsaid support and to overlap upon one of said studs, insulation betweenthe overlapping portions of said strips, a trip coil carried by and incircuit with said strips, a movable contact arranged to engage the othercontact stud, a flexible conducting strip in circuit with said movablecontact and secured at one end to the face of the uppermost conductingstrip, and connections whereby said trip coil controls said movablecontact.

9. The combination with a support, fixed and movable switch elements,and a latch for holding the parts in closed position, of a trippingmagnet secured to said support, an armature therefor, operating meansfor said latch projecting from said latch into the path of movement ofsaid armature, a manually operated lever pivoted to a fixed point andengaging said operating means to actuate said latch independently ofsaid armature, a second tripping magnet, and an armature thereformovable against said manually operable lever to actuate said latch.

10. The combination with a circuit breaker comprising a support, fixedand movable contacts biased to open when closed, and a latch for holdingthe parts in closed position, of tripping mechanism comprising twotripping magnets secured to said support, an armature actuated by one ofsaid magnets to engage and trip said latch, a manually operated lever toengage and trip said latch, and an armature actuated by the other magnetto actuate said manually operated lever to trip said latch.

11. In a circuit breaker, the combination with relatively movablecooperating contacts biased to open when closed, of a latch for holdingsaid contacts closed, two electromagnets arranged in alinement andmounted to bring one in front of the other to render both electromagnetsequidistant from the plane of movement of said contacts, and connectionswhereby either of said electromagnets actuates said latch to releasesaid cont-acts.

12. In a circuit breaker, the combination with a support, relativelymovable cooperating contacts mounted on said support and biased to openwhen closed, of a latch for holding said contacts closed, anelectromagnet mounted on said support, a second electromagnet mounted inalinement with said first electromagnet and in front of it to bring saidfirst electromagnet between the second electromagnet and said support,and connections whereby either of said electromagnets actuates saidlatch to release said contacts.

13. A circuit breaker comprising a flat support, relatively movablecooperating contacts mounted on said support to move perpendicularly tosaid support and biased to open when closed, a latch for holding saidcontacts closed, two electromagnets arranged in alinement and mounted toproject from said support to bring one electromagnet in front of theother, and connec tions whereby either of said electromagnets actuatessaid latch to release said contacts.

14. A double pole circuit breaker com prising a support, two pairs ofrelatively movable cooperating contacts mounted side by side on saidsupport to move perpendicularly thereto and biased to open when closed,a latch for holding each pair of con tacts closed, two electromagnetsarranged in alinement and mounted between said pairs of movable contactsto project perpendicularly from said support and thereby bring oneelectromagnet in front of the other, and connections whereby either ofsaid electromagnets actuates'both latches to release both pairs ofcontacts.

15. In an electric switch, the combination with a support, of a trippingmagnet, a supporting frame therefor secured to said support, an armaturetherefor located at the lower end of said magnet, a tripping leverpivoted to the lower part of said magnet frame and extending outwardbeyond its face, a second tripping magnet secured to the face of saidframe, and an armature therefor mounted to engage the outwardlyextending end of said lever.

16. The combination with two independently movable juxtaposed switches,each having a latch for holding it closed, of two independentelectroresponsive devices mounted one in front of the other between saidswitches, one of said devices having an armature moved in response topredeter mined conditions on the circuit, another device having anarmature released in response to different predetermined conditions tomove independently of the first armature, and connections whereby eitherarmature moves both latches and thereby trips both switches.

17. The combination with two independently operated switches, eachhaving a latch for holding it closed, of twoindependentelectroresponsive devices arranged one in front of the otherbetween said switches, one of said devices being connected in serieswith one of said switches, and the other device being connected betweenthe lines controlled by said switches, each of said devices having amember movable independently of the other, and connections whereby themovable member of either device actu ates both latches and thereby tripsboth switches.

18. The combination with two independently operable juxtaposed switches,each comprising fixed contact studs and a movable contact for completingthe circuit be tween said studs, of independent means on each switch foroperating said movable contact, means for holding the switch closed, anelectroresponsive device mounted between said switches and connected inseries with one of said switches, a second electroresponsive devicemounted in alinement with and in front of the first electroresponsivedevice and connected between the lines controlled by said switches, eachof said studs having a movable member movable independently of the otherand connections whereby either of said members controls said latchingmeans .and thereby trips both switches.

19. The combination with two independently operable juxtaposed switches,each having a latch for holding it closed, of two electroresponsivedevices arranged in alinement between said switches and mounted one infront of the other, each of said devices having a member movableindependently of the other and in the opposite direction and a leverpivoted at a point between said members in a position to be actuated byeither one and arranged to actuate both latches and thereby trip bothswitches simultaneously.

20. The combination with two independently operable juxtaposed switches,each having a latch for holding it closed, of an electroresponsivedevice mounted between said switches and having a member movable in onedirection upon the occurrence of predetermined conditions in thecircuit, a second electroresponsive device mounted in alinement with andin front of the first electroresponsive device and having a membermovable independently of the first device and in the opposite directionupon the occurrence of other predetermined conditions in the circuit,and a tripping lever pivoted between said members in a position to beactuated by either member and arranged to trip both the switchessimultaneously when actuated.

21. In a circuit breaker, a block of insulating material, a stationarycontact and two superimposed conducting strips mounted on one sidethereof, terminals entering said insulating block from the other sideand connected with said contact and with one of said strips, a movablecooperating contact for controlling the circuit between said stationarycontact and the other one of said strips, and a tripping magnet havingits terminals connected respectively to said two conducting strips.

22. In a circuit breaker, a block of insulating material, a stationarycontact and two insulated superimposed conducting strips mounted on oneside thereof, a lever carrying a movable contact which cooperates withsaid stationary contact and one of said strips to control the circuit,terminals entering said insulated block from the other side andconnected with said stationary contact and the other of said strips, anda tripping magnet having terminals connected respectively to the twoconduct-- ing strips.

23. In a circuit breaker, a block of insulating material, a stationarycontact and two insulated superimposed conducting strips mounted on oneside thereof, terminals entering said insulating block from the otherside, one of said terminals being connected with said stationary contactand the other terminal being connected with the lowermost conductingstrip, a tripping mag net having terminals connected respectively to thetwo conducting strips, and a movable contact for completing the circuitbetween Cir the uppermost of said conducting strips and said stationarycontact.

24. In a circuit breaker, a block of insulating material cooperatingstationary and movable contacts mounted on one side there of, terminalsentering said insulating block from the other side, one of saidterminals being connected to said stationary contact, two insulatedsuperimposed conducting strips mounted on the same side of said block assaid contacts with one of said strips connected to the other terminal, aflexible connection between one of said strips and said movable contact,and a tripping magnet having terminals connected re spectively to thetwo conducting strips.

25. The combination with a support, of an electro-magnet, a frametherefor secured to said support, a housing for said magnet, a secondelectromagnet secured to the face of said frame, and means for securingsaid housing to said support constituting an electrical connectionbetween said second magnet and the back of said support.

26. The combination with a support, of an electromagnet, a frametherefor secured to said support, a housing for said magnet, asecondelectromagnet secured to the face of said frame, and mechanicalconnections therefor extending through the walls of said housing andthrough said support providing electrical terminals for the connectionof said second electromagnet.

27. In a circuit-breaker, a support, a

fixed contact carried thereby, a contactcarrying frame carried by saidsupport, a pivoted latch carried by said frame, a tripping arm for saidlatch, and a tripping lever carried by said support, a part of saidlever having a surface in engagement with the end of said tripping arm,said surface being so formed that the end of the tripping arm 1s alwaysin contact therewith.

28. In a circuit-breaker, a support, a

fixed contact carried thereby, a contactcarrying frame pivoted to saidsupport, a pivoted latch carried by said frame, a lug with which saidlatch engages to hold the circuit-breaker closed, a projection carriedby said latch, and a tripping lever carried 5 by said support, saidtripping lever and said projection being always in engagement.

In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands this 27th day ofMarch, 1905.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

